commercials specifications

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[JamieWorsfold] “10 sec still at the end etc”

Nothing like this in the USA.

Do you mean a 10 sec. FREEZE-FRAME of the last shot, or 10 sec. of BLACK following the spot? (The latter might be useful, the former, not so much.

I also understand that there’s a tradition of a 30-second COUNTDOWN before the spot.

I can’t understand why a COMMERCIAL would need a 30 SECOND PRE-ROLL… EVER!

A program that was rolling down a network feed might use a long countdown, but WHO would CUE at TV spot 30 seconds before the first audio/video?

OK,I’m done.
Now, I hope someone else can actually HELP you 😉

[Jamie Worsfold]

Yeah, I meant a freeze frame… and that would come in quite handy as far as I can see, surely? The standard for the end of a programme or going out to an ad break in the UK is to lay a 10 second freeze frame after the out point. So I was imagining it would be the same for the end of an ad….

And, yeah, I would guess that there’d be a 30 second countdown on it. Bars and tone as well, surely? I mean, if its a standard spec for a programme to have these things I’ve always thought it’d be standard practice for anything going out on a network…? Can’t do any harm 😉

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

That 10-sec freeze-frame seems just too ODD for me. (Are you SURE?)

I can see many times where that would simply not be appropriate.

In the US, 30-second spots have :29 sec (or so) audio length a 30-second video with a fade up from BLACK before it and a fade to BLACK right after it.

Its traditional for the operator (at the station) to take care of any “technical difficulties” on the station’s part (like not having the next spot ready) not by “sitting on a freeze of the previous commercial, but by either sitting in BLACK or putting up a station promo/ID/technical difficulties slide or still-store.

With the digital on-air spotg playback systems, having that freeze at the end would be useless, as the system would not store it anyway, as spots are only recorded (and played) to the length specified.

[Jamie Worsfold]

Yes, I’m sure. Any UK programme specs I’ve ever seen have had a 10 second freeze frame at the end.

Are you saying that you fade up and down to black at the start/end of everything?!? Now that I really do find odd…. but then, thats you US folk… hee hee hee

[Levon H]

here in australia… it deppends on the method of transfer to the stations. ive gone through 2 companies who will transfer it to the TV stations, dubsat, and adstream. adstream require 20second clapper, 10 second countdown(inc 2 secs of black) the comercial, then 5 seconds of black afterwards.
havent used dubsat in a while, but if i remember corectly they required 10 seconds of black, 10 second clapper, countdown, comercial then 10 seconds of black. or something like that.

so best check with the people who will be transfering it for you. tey will probably have guidelines they can email you.

the same goes with audio.. both places wanted the audio at different levels, dubsat were -3db and adstream at -7.

also if your ad fades from black, you have to have a 15x15px or larger white square in the top right corner in the frame before the first frame of the comercial. and same if it fades out on black.

,Levon

my band http://www.myspace.com/counterfeittraitor

[Bret Williams]

A fade up or a fade to black? Never. That’s just a waste of the time you bought. Commercials usually cut in and cut out. You bought the time. Might as well use it.

[Martin Baker]

I haven’t done a commercial for a couple of years but yes definitely 10 sec hold at the end (and I think it has to be a freeze rather than a “living hold”). I also have a vague recollection of even having to put a 40 sec clock on the front.

Anyway the BACC is the organisation that all UK TV ads have to be approved by, so I guess they would be the people to ask:
https://www.bacc.org.uk

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[Bret Williams] “A fade up or a fade to black? Never. That’s just a waste of the time you bought. Commercials usually cut in and cut out. You bought the time. Might as well use it.”

Are you serious?

You don’t fade to black?

Wow.

[Jamie Worsfold]

I can’t understand this fading to black thing… I’ve never seen any production fade in or fade out to black (as a technical point, rather than an editorial decision ie a dissolve at the start of a drama production or similar..)

Now, I’ve only been over to the US once. But I can’t remember every commercial fading in and out when I had the TV on…!?

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

There are long-slow-fades. Nobody is advocating use of that in a commercial.

And there are, say, 5-8 frame “laps” (soft-cuts).

I bring most of my spots up at 6 frames at the head and down by 6 frames at the end.

And on a broader note:
I’ve been tagging national spots for years.
They always have a quick lap to black (5-15 frames) at the end.
When we used to do this “manually”, it could drive you crazy trying to drop YOUR CG info at the same time as their video faded.

Many stations “convenience production” these tags and, without the aid of a computer editor (yes, some basic “convenience production” production is still done “live-to-tape” (usually by the same crew who stays late for the newscasts), it can be ugly.

On the other hand, I have never heard of a 10-sec FREEZE (past the listed time) at the end of, well, anything.